Chapter 17: Punishing Madam Tian

Madam Wei originally wanted to take Yaoyao’s hand and check her over personally, but the moment she met her son’s cautious gaze, she immediately gave up on the idea.

As soon as they entered the room and before Yaoyao could even sit down, the nanny beside Madam Wei brought over a steaming plate of osmanthus pastries and placed them at her side.

Madam Wei noticed the mud stains on the little girl’s jacket. Though she didn’t know exactly what had happened, she still felt distressed by the fright the girl must’ve endured today, and her heart grew even colder toward her sister-in-law.

Xie Yixing, sitting nearby, looked as calm as ever, sipping tea from his cup.
He hadn’t said a single word since entering the room.
But even though he said nothing, Madam Wei could still sense the ruthless anger he was struggling to suppress.

No one knew her son better than she did.
Even though Madam Wei saw through his thoughts, she didn’t plan to stop him.

After all, that heartless sister-in-law of hers had laid hands on Yaoyao!

That child was the daughter-in-law she had personally chosen for her son. For Madam Tian to target Yaoyao was to challenge the entire Marquis’s residence!

Let her suffer a bit—it’s what she deserves!

Besides, even if her son went a little too far, it wouldn’t cost Madam Tian her life. At most, it would make her wish she were dead.

A woman like that was unfit to become the future matron of the Wei family!

The more Madam Wei thought about it, the angrier she became. Without staying to say more, she got up and returned to her room to write a letter, intending to lodge a formal complaint against Madam Tian!

But just as she picked up her brush, her husband returned home.

The Marquis Chengming was in high spirits after recent good news, and even his tone of voice was noticeably gentler than usual.

Seeing his typically gentle wife frowning and clearly upset, he immediately asked, “Who has upset you, my lady?”

Madam Wei set down her brush and spoke with resentment, directing her blame at him as well.
“You were on duty tonight, concerned only with protecting the commoners in the city, but you didn’t notice that your own son and daughter-in-law nearly got into serious trouble?”

The marquis looked completely confused at first.
He quickly pieced things together, and his expression turned grim. “Yixing was in danger?”

“Hmph,” Madam Wei shot him a glare. “Not Yixing—Yaoyao. That poor child was nearly kidnapped.”

Though the marquis had only met Yaoyao once or twice, he remembered the plump and fair little girl fondly.

And with his wife constantly singing her praises, going on and on about how adorable she was and how much she liked her, it was hard for him not to have a favorable impression of her.

Hearing this, the Marquis Chengming furrowed his brows. His temper flared immediately.
“The secret guards we raised in the marquis’s residence must be eating for nothing! I told them to keep a close eye on the children—this is how they ‘watch’ them? How is Yaoyao now?”

Seeing her husband get angry, Madam Wei calmed herself a bit and replied in a more composed tone, “Fortunately, both returned home safe. As for the one who stirred up trouble…”

For the first time, the Marquis Chengming saw real loathing in his wife’s eyes. Whoever dared lay hands on Yaoyao must be an unforgivable criminal!

He was about to summon his men to take action when Madam Wei let out a sigh and said,
“It was my sister-in-law.”

“…What?”

Because he had spent most of the past few years in the military camp and rarely came home, the marquis barely knew anything about the affairs of the inner residence.

He’d originally thought that with the back residence being so quiet and his only son not close with either parent, his wife must be bored at home. So, he had encouraged her to spend more time with her family for companionship. Who would’ve thought he’d invited a wolf into the house.

But since this matter involved the women’s quarters, he couldn’t really interfere. All he could do was take her hand, pull her gently into his arms, and say with heartfelt concern,
“My lady, you’ve been wronged. I fear this puts you in a very difficult position.”

“Not at all,” Madam Wei said breezily. “I don’t plan to handle it myself—someone else will take care of it for me.”

The Marquis blinked in confusion.

Madam Wei no longer felt like being secretive and laid everything out:
“Yaoyao belongs to Yixing’s household. Naturally, he should deal with it.”

The battle-hardened marquis nearly lost his composure when he heard her plan. His face stiffened.
“You’re letting Yixing handle it? Aren’t you afraid…”

Even though he didn’t finish the sentence, Madam Wei could guess what he was worried about.

She smiled lightly and reassured him, “Don’t worry. Yixing is a big boy now. He knows his limits.”

The Marquis frowned. “You’re sure?”

He hadn’t been home much when the boy was younger, but he hadn’t missed a single detail of his son’s misdeeds.

At age three, Yixing had dared to toss venomous snakes and scorpions onto his aunt’s bed with his bare hands.

Now at six and a half, his methods of torment would only be more refined.

But since Madam Wei insisted on letting things run their course, he had no grounds to object. He just hoped his son wouldn’t go so far as to kill someone—otherwise, as a father, punishing him would be hard, but not punishing him would be worse. It would be a real dilemma.

That night, Madam Wei sent out her letter.

The Marquis Chengming also dispatched a letter to the courier station, asking the border guards if any small nations had recently grown bold enough to stir trouble—he wanted a reason to return to the front lines and vent his frustrations.

In the Dead of Night

Xie Yixing, hearing Yaoyao’s steady breathing, quietly climbed out of bed.

He tucked the blanket around her carefully and threw on a robe before opening the door slightly.

A secret guard immediately approached him.

“Your Highness, Madam Tian is still locked in the woodshed.”

“Good.”

Xie Yixing pulled his robe tighter around him, his expression cold and stern.

The murderous glint in his eyes was so chilling that even the elite secret guards of the marquis’s residence couldn’t help but shiver.

Could this really be the gaze of a six-year-old child?

As soon as he entered the woodshed, the stench of blood and filth hit him hard.

Madam Tian was bound tightly, tossed beside a pile of dry hay. The blood on the backs of her hands had dried, caking into dark scabs, with patches of exposed white bone showing through.

Because no one had cleaned her up, the chicken droppings and blood on her head and face had mixed into a horrifying mess.

The once proud and arrogant Madam Tian now resembled a defeated cockroach, her head drooped, her eyes filled with pleading.

Xie Yixing remained unmoved. Even though the woman before him was his own aunt, he spoke coldly,
“You’re filthy. You need a good cleaning.”

At his signal, two maids stepped forward, each holding a loofah gourd and a basin of water.

The water had been laced with a medicine that made wounds fester faster.

He instructed the maids to soak the loofahs in the solution and scrub Madam Tian with them.

They rubbed her over and over again—no one knew how many times.

Her mouth had been sealed shut to avoid disturbing Yaoyao’s sleep, so not a single cry for help could escape. Cold sweat dripped continuously from her forehead.

Each time the loofah touched her skin, the light in her eyes dimmed further.

Only when her exposed arms and neck had been scrubbed raw and were peeling from the irritation did Xie Yixing finally turn and leave.

The Next Day

Madam Tian was secretly sent back to the Wei household.

After just one night, her wounds had already begun to fester.

She began wailing as soon as she arrived, but no one in the Wei household pitied her.

Who told her to mess with the young heir of the marquis’s residence? She brought this on herself—it served her right.

And when Wei Dalang read the letter of accusation his younger sister had written, every word pierced his heart with guilt and shame.

Before Madam Tian could cry more than a few sentences, Wei Dalang impatiently ordered her mouth sealed and stuffed her back into the carriage to be sent off to the countryside to recover.

As for whether she healed well or not—that would depend on fate.

At the moment, he had something far more pressing to worry about.

Wei Dalang turned to the servant who had just returned in a rush. His gaze flickered anxiously.
“You still haven’t found Hui-jie’er?”